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K-Pop Demon Hunters

Good vs. Evil and the Limits of Empathy in K-Pop Demon Hunters By Elizaveta Friesem
 

Lesson Plan: Good vs. Evil and the Limits of Empathy in 
K-Pop Demon Hunters

By Elizaveta Friesem

Read the blog on the theory behind the lesson plan: Good vs. Evil and the Limits of Empathy in K-Pop Demon Hunters

Grade level / Audience

High school or college media literacy, film studies, or social studies courses

Time

Time can be adjusted depending on whether you watch the film together in class and whether you choose to rewatch certain parts during the discussion.

Prerequisites

  • Students should have watched K-Pop Demon Hunters (either at home before class or together in class, depending on available time).

  • Familiarity with basic storytelling concepts (protagonist, antagonist, conflict, resolution).

  • Optional: students read parts of the essay “Good vs. Evil and the Limits of Empathy in K-Pop Demon Hunters.”

Learning Goals

By the end of the lesson, students will:

  1. Recognize how the good vs. evil binary operates as a recurring narrative structure in popular media.

  2. Analyze how K-Pop Demon Hunters both challenges and reinforces that binary.

  3. Reflect on why morally simplified stories are so emotionally appealing.

  4. Explore alternative ways of imagining conflict and empathy in storytelling.

Lesson Objectives

Students will be able to:

  • Identify examples that reinforce or challenge the good vs. evil binary in K-Pop Demon Hunters.

  • Explain how genre conventions and commercial pressures (such as time limits, pacing, and audience expectations) can simplify moral framing.

  • Discuss psychological reasons for the persistence of “heroes vs. villains” stories.

Experiment creatively with alternative storylines that move beyond the binary.

 

To download the full lesson plan: Good vs. Evil and the Limits of Empathy in K-Pop Demon Hunters